52. Passing the Buck

"Full strength is definitely not enough... but partial strength is still possible."

Xi tilted her head. "Isn't this a very common ability? I heard Su tell me before that there was a warrior with similar abilities to me in the Previous Civilization."

"That's really true... I was going to say that your abilities were like the Herrscher of Reason, but now it seems that the Herrscher of Reason is your inferior replacement..."

Sirin shook his head slightly, his face full of surprise.

"Then how did you come to know Eden? Did Sue tell you?"

"Su gave me a taste of his memories from the Previous Civilization ...that's why I was able to draw these older brothers and sisters from the Previous Civilization."

"However, those who are too talented won't do, like Kevin, I just can't draw him..."

"That guy... he might actually be a bit too strong for you."

Sirin revealed a confident smile, "But I'm different. Kevin is about even with me."

"Fu Hua is amazing!"

Xi cooperated by showing an expression of admiration.

"Hmph... Now you know how strong I am, but for now, let's deal with this annoying guy first."

Sirin glanced at the Herrscher of Rock in the distance and said.

"Little Xi, you probably want Eden to help counteract the effects of the Simulated Black Hole, right...? That's a good idea indeed."

"That's right. Next, Sister Fu Hua, just find the right opportunity to attack."

In an instant, the scroll in Xi's hand burst forth with ink, and a familiar figure gradually solidified before the two of them.

"Long time no see, Hua. It seems you've found your place in the modern civilization as well."

"Long time no see, Eden... wait, do you recognize me?"

"Sister Fu Hua, the people I draw are of course conscious, and their memories will be derived from my memories and thus change."

After explaining to the bewildered Sirin, Xi looked at Eden.

"Sister Eden, please."

"Okay, leave it to me."

Eden looked at the Star of Eden drawn on the paper by Xi and a hint of nostalgia appeared on his face.

"I never thought that I would see this old friend again after so long."

Place your hand on the Star of Eden, and the black cannon that emerged from the painting immediately began to tremble and change, until... it turned back into a pale blue sphere of light.

This sphere of light is the true essence of the Star of Eden, or the Star Sea Harmony. As for its external appearance, it can be changed according to the user's preferences.

The pale blue sphere shifted again, and finally, a golden harp appeared in Eden's hand.

Eden gently stroked the body of the violin, a smile appearing on his face.

With a gentle tap of his fingers, melodious music flowed slowly from the strings. Before he could appreciate this music, which he hadn't heard in 50,000 years, Sirin's figure instantly appeared above the Herrscher of Rock.

It was still that devastating black sword god, and it seemed that he wanted to show off in front of his old friend. This time, his power seemed to be even greater than before.

With the soft chanting of Eden, the intangible music seemed to transform into something tangible, easily smoothing out the Simulated Black Hole constructed by the Herrscher of Rock.

This time, having lost the opportunity to buy time with the Simulated Black Hole, the Herrscher of Rock, with no way to avoid it, had no choice but to take the full force of the Great Void Sword God at his peak.

After a heavy blow, seemingly not quite satisfied, Sirin once again channeled his Honkai Energy, and a sword god identical to the one before appeared in the sky again.

"It seems Sirin understands the importance of finishing off enemies..."

Xi muttered to Eden in a low voice.

"I never expected that the Herrscher born from Hua's body would be so... lively and cheerful. This is really unlike Hua's personality at all."

Eden's smile never faded; it seemed that Sirin brought her even more joy than Xi had imagined.

"I really want to know what Hua will think when she sees her... I'm sure they'll get along well."

"Whether it was pleasant or not is unclear, but... telecom fraud still exists."

Sensing the Herrscher of Rock's aura gradually fading, Eden gently dispersed the Star Sea Harmony in his hand and touched Xi's hair.

"It's almost time. It seems you don't need my assistance anymore."

"Are you leaving already...? Well, goodbye, Sister Eden."

"Goodbye, Little Xi. I can't wait to share today's experiences with Elysia. She'll probably regret not having a drink with me in the living room today."

With a mischievous smile on his face, Eden waved his hand lightly, transforming into a beam of scattered energy points that disappeared.

A moment later, Sirin returned to Xi's side, holding a core in his hand.

"Huh, Eden has disappeared?"

"Yes, the time has come. Moreover, this kind of reproduction of people consumes a lot of Honkai Energy."

"I see... Never mind, let's put this aside for now. Look, I've already taken care of the Herrscher of Rock!"

Sirin proudly held up the core in his hand.

"Yay! Sister Fu Hua is the best in the world!"

"Hmph, it's good that you know how powerful I am."

Sirin was clearly very pleased, his face beaming with praise.

After being praised by Xi a few more times, Sirin looked like she was about to float to the sky.

Although Su's protection prevented her from accurately reading Xi's thoughts, judging from the emotions revealed in her superficial thinking, Xi's praise was entirely from the heart.

That's from the bottom of my heart, after all, who doesn't love the adorable Herrscher of Sentience?

After feeling smug, Sirin finally remembered her original plan.

"Oh, right, Little Xi, this is for you."

After sealing the Herrscher Core in his hand with several layers of Tai Xu Sword Qi to ensure that Honkai Energy would not leak out, Sirin handed the Rock Herrscher core to Xi.

"Hey, give it to me?"

"Of course, with my strength, I don't need this thing. I'm afraid I'll have indigestion if I eat this core."

Sirin looked at the core and gave an expression as if he had seen the main course at a members-only restaurant.

"But... but I don't dare to eat it..."

"Idiot, who told you to eat the core?" Sirin couldn't help but tap Xi's head. "Doesn't Otto like you a lot? I know he's definitely not dead. Let him make this core into Divine Key for you later."

"Perfect timing. Your ability needs time to activate, and you don't always have a teammate as capable as me to buy you time. The Simulated Black Hole is a good thing; you can learn it too."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean 'hey'? Just take it if I give it to you."

Sirin shoved the core into Xi's hand and said nonchalantly, "This thing is really useless to me. But it's a bit stingy to give it to you as a gift. I'll go back to Mount Tai Xu sometime and dig up all the Key of Domination that were buried in the ground back then."

"I'll give each of you one then!"

Chapter 52 Shifting the Blame East

Having accepted Sirin's gift and confirmed that the Herrscher of Rock had been completely destroyed, Xi casually waved her hand, taking back the painting that was already mostly destroyed.

"Sigh, another painting lost. Looks like I'll have to work overtime again..."

"So your paintings are the kind that can't be repaired?"

"Not really... but this level of repair is not as good as painting a new one."

With an exaggerated sigh, Xi, her little face contorted in distress, returned to reality with Sirin.

However, as soon as they left the painting, they were immediately locked onto by two auras from afar.

"Eh? Sister Bianca, His Lord Bishop?"

Looking at the headquarters floating island, which had already escaped the danger zone and returned to its original altitude, and the two people guarding her painting, ready for battle, Xi tilted her head in confusion.

"What... what are you doing?"

Almost in the blink of an eye, a golden figure rushed towards her.

Before Xi could even react, she was pulled into the arms of the blonde knight. Seeing this, Sirin quietly made way for them, giving them some space.

"Thank goodness, Little Xi, thank goodness, you're alright..."

Her vision was completely obscured by the enormous human heart, and a soft, warm touch kept coming from her cheek. Feeling the delicate fragrance emanating from Durandal, Xi comforted her in a muffled voice:

"Bianca, you underestimate me... It's just a Rock Herrscher, it'll be fine."

"I know... but I'm still worried about you."

Durandal's voice still carried a hint of unease. "Next time... don't be so reckless. You could have contacted your sister Amber and asked her to coordinate the headquarters' defense system to fight alongside you."

"Hehehe... that would be possible, but then the floating island at headquarters would be lost too. Our home is on there, and I can't bear to see it destroyed..."

Looking at the two tender people beside him, the intense warmth of their interaction was almost like a blast of light from a blaster to everyone around them.

Looking in front of him, there was nothing cozy, only a blond man who looked disgusting... At that moment, Sirin suddenly felt an urge to punch him again.

"Hey, old friend, can you not be so resentful... After all, I let you kill me almost without resistance once, so we're even, aren't we?"

Seeing Sirin's increasingly hostile gaze, Otto broke out in a cold sweat and quickly forced a smile.

"Even? I only killed one of your bodies, and now you're standing perfectly fine in front of me. How can that be considered even?"

Sirin clenched his fist. "If we want to even things out, I should be the one to beat you to ashes so that you can never be resurrected."

"You can't calculate the accounts like that, old friend..." Otto said, his expression unchanged, as he began his classic sophistry.

"I killed you, and you killed me; I was resurrected, and you were reborn; wasn't it because I carefully healed your body that you were given the chance to be reborn?"

"If you really want to be honest, not only do we have no enmity, but I also owe you a life."

"You... I... no, Otto, have you no shame?"

Sirin's eyes widened, wanting to refute Otto, but not knowing how.

"I'm just stating the facts. But you did indeed save Schicksal from a crisis just now, so now it's my turn to thank you, old friend."

"You? Thank you?"

Sirin's face looked like she had swallowed a fly. "Who cares about your thanks? Just stay far away from me from now on and don't let me see you again. That's the best thanks you can give me."

"Don't be so quick to refuse, old friend." Otto's smile remained as enigmatic as ever. "I know what you need most right now..."

"You've just woken up, you're still groggy, you don't know who you are, you don't know what you should do, you... you're not used to your identity and position yet."

"You need a guide, an anchor, someone who knows you, understands you, and can help you understand yourself..."

"You're not trying to say that this person is you, are you? Let me make this clear first, I don't consider you an old friend, so don't call me that, it makes me uncomfortable."

Sirin immediately shivered and quickly moved away from Otto, afraid that the guy would get entangled with him.

"No, no, no, I'm talking about the you of the past."

Otto spread his hands, making his signature gesture.

"Didn't you already retrieve a Feather Dust from me? You had more than one of these feathers before."

"And before you died, you did leave behind a feather as a backup plan. Coincidentally, its current owner is someone you know."

"That person is..."

"Kevin Kaslana".

A moment later, Xi raised her head and looked in the direction where Sirin had already left.

"Little Xi, don't move, I haven't finished checking you yet."

Before she could even speak, Xi was pushed back down to continue undergoing Durandal's "physical examination."

The light of the Black Abyss White Flower enveloped Xi's entire body, carefully examining her for any hidden injuries.

"Alright, alright, Durandal, since Little Xi said it's nothing, then it shouldn't be a big problem."

Otto shook his head helplessly. Durandal was a student he had personally mentored, and apart from Rita, he had never seen Durandal worry about anyone like this.